A senior Equality officer was arrested after having a violent argument with two flight attendants and insulting and injuring a police officer at the Santiago de Compostela airport

A senior official from the Ministry of Equality, the adviser José Andrés del Reino Cárdenas, a level 29 of the department headed by Minister Irene Montero, spent Monday night in prison accused of attacking authority, for becoming violent with some hostesses of the Ryanair airline and injuring one of the policemen who tried to identify him and who had been called by the employees. According to the sources consulted, the senior official refused to identify himself shouting “you don't know who I am”. “You are homophobes and fascists.”

The incident took place on Sunday at the Lavacolla airport, in Santiago de Compostela, at 10:00 p.m., when the hostesses who attended the airline counter informed Del Reino, Area Coordinator at the Ministry of Equality, that the baggage he was carrying exceeded the permitted weight. The adviser showed his annoyance, started an argument with the hostesses and, according to police sources, began to show an aggressive attitude towards them.

The employees called the airport police station and two agents appeared and asked José Andrés del Reino to identify himself.. He refused to give them the ID and began to utter insults. “You are fascists”, “you are homophobes”, “you don't know who you are talking to”. The Equality advisor tried to leave by closing the door behind him and did not stop pressing it despite the fact that he verified that one of the agents had his hand trapped. The two policemen ended up arresting Del Reino, who was brought to justice for assault on authority.

In January 2021, the resolution of the Undersecretariat was published in the BOE, which resolves the call for free appointment of jobs in the Ministry of Equality, carried out by Resolution of November 20, 2020. It stated that Del Reino Cárdenas was awarded a position as area coordinator, maintaining his level 29.

José Andrés del Reino was accompanied at that time by his partner, who did not stop taking pictures of what was happening. At one point in the discussion, one of the police officers dropped his cell phone on the ground and the adviser's companion appropriated the police phone.. He denied taking it until a call from headquarters revealed the location of the device.. The agents demanded their return and included this episode in the report. The adviser to the Minister for Equality spent the night in jail and was released on Tuesday morning.

The general secretary of the PP, Cuca Gamarra, has spoken on social networks about the arrest of the senior Equality officer with an appeal to the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, to dismiss him.

From the Unified Police Union (SUP) they consider the behavior of this high office unacceptable and reiterate to the Government the need to increase the penalties for this type of crime. “We do not enter into whether or not this senior position of the Ministry of Equality should resign, but we do ask the government parties to promote the necessary legislative reforms to reinforce our work in the face of the escalation of attacks that we have been suffering. Claim that we have transferred to the Minister of the Interior, in addition to the political leaders of the Interior Commission of Congress”, they point out from this union, which will appear in the procedure.

This newspaper contacted the Ministry of Equality, which limited itself to stating: “We have nothing to comment on the private affairs of an official.”